The Middle East and Eastern Europe rabies Expert Bureau (MEEREB) third meeting: Lyon-France (7–8 April, 2015)

Abstract

MEEREB is an inter-regional network of countries from North Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia that work together with the aim of improving rabies control and prevention at local, regional and global level. MEEREB members met for the third time in 2015 in France (Lyon) to review the current rabies situation within the network and to discuss the way forward the prospect of a One Health approach against rabies. Dogs were the main vector of transmission in all MEEREB countries except for Croatia and Serbia where foxes represented the primary source. The number of rabies animal cases reported in 2014 varied substantially between countries with Ukraine reporting the highest number of animal cases. Human cases still occur in North Africa and all Middle East and Eurasian countries while no cases of human rabies were reported in Croatia, Serbia and Romania, although cases of rabies were identified in both dogs and foxes in 2014. Participants concluded that MEEREB can act as a think-tank where countries can share data, information, experiences and best practices to jointly address challenges in rabies control and prevention. They called for elimination of dog-transmitted rabies through vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin stockpiles and implementation of a One Health approach to achieve rabies's eradication.

Using phylogeographic approaches to analyse the dispersal history, velocity and direction of viral lineages — Application to rabies virus spread in Iran

“…In fact, rabies vaccination in wildlife requires specific strategies and stakeholder involvement (Freuling et al, , Hsu et al, , Müller et al, , Wallace et al, ), which are different from those applied for infected dogs (Fahrion et al, ; Lembo, ). In Iran and the Middle East, rabies has been reported in many wild carnivore species such as foxes, golden jackals, wolves and martens (Janani et al, ; Picot et al, ; Seimenis, ). Our study clearly shows that some of the lineages circulating in Iran are more often found in wildlife species (in 50% of isolates from clades A1, A2, B and C altogether; n = 86) than those of the other clades (D, E, F, G and H), which were almost exclusively isolated from dogs (96%; n = 25).…”

“…In fact, rabies vaccination in wildlife requires specific strategies and stakeholder involvement (Freuling et al, 2013, Hsu et al, 2017, Müller et al, 2015, Wallace et al, 2018, which are different from those applied for infected dogs (Fahrion et al, 2017;Lembo, 2012). In Iran and the Middle East, rabies has been reported in many wild carnivore species such as foxes, golden jackals, wolves and martens (Janani et al, 2008;Picot et al, 2017;Seimenis, 2008).…”

“…For centuries, rabies has been present in Iran and has been a notifiable disease since several decades (Baltazard & Ghodssi, ). Dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) are the primary source of human rabies in Iran, but many other rabid wild animals such as Blanford's foxes ( Vulpes cana ), golden jackal ( Canis aureus ), mongooses ( Herpestes auropunctatus , Herpestes edwardsii ) and wolves ( Canis lupus ) are reported with high frequency throughout the country yearly, suggesting a complex epidemiological scenario (Janani et al, ; Picot et al, ; Seimenis, ). As a consequence, Iran is characterized by one of the highest annual rates of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP; 22/10000 by 2018) provided to exposed patients worldwide (Dehghani, Sharif, Madani, Kashani, & Sharif, ; Farahtaj, Fayaz, Howaizi, Biglari, & Gholami, ).…”

“…Iran is located in the centre of Eurasia and shares almost 5,500 kilometres of borders in total with eight countries. For centuries, rabies has been present in Iran and has been a notifiable disease since several decades (Baltazard & Ghodssi, 1954 (Janani et al, 2008;Picot et al, 2017;Seimenis, 2008). As a consequence, Iran is characterized by one of the highest annual rates of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP; 22/10000 by 2018) provided to exposed patients worldwide (Dehghani, Sharif, Madani, Kashani, & Sharif, 2016;Farahtaj, Fayaz, Howaizi, Biglari, & Gholami, 2014).…”

Rabies Prevention in Asia: Institutionalizing Implementation Capacities

“…These regions plus countries of North Africa and Europe, belong to the Middle East and Eastern Europe Rabies Expert Bureau (MEEREB), an interregional rabies prevention and control network. In 2015, MEEREB has called for elimination of dog-transmitted rabies through vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin stockpiles and implementation of a One Health approach to achieve rabies eradication [16].…”